By So the elephant in the internet room that I have yet to address is I’ve agreed to write on a hockey blog without knowing much about hockey at all. Seems like somewhat of a problem. After all we know that all hockey fans are totally comfortable with casual fans who think the game is interesting without knowing every single little intricacy. But no matter, I figure I’ll post a series of blogs where readers can (A) laugh at my stupidity or (B) also actually learn about hockey.
For the first one though, I’m going to take you all to puck school. Here is an intro in to my hockey fandom which will hopefully shed some light on why this series is a much needed exercise. Mostly though, it will allow me to get over all of my insecurities by posting them in word form for all to read. Put on your sweaters, cycle the puck, and be a good skater, because we’re about to go to puck school.
So I’ve never really been in the “hockey guy” club. Never played. Often hated it growing up. But several factors have turned me from a total hoser to a passable hockey watcher.
First, I moved to Chicago in 2012. The city was electric on a Blackhawks high, it really seemed like a hockey town… No Cubs talk, No Bears Talk, No Bulls talk. It was awesome to see a city rally around a team like that. Growing up in a small town 2 hours away from the closest rink… I’d never seen that energy before.
Next, the Hawks kept winning. I bonded with my roommate/blog partner over the team and kept following and kept getting straight winning adrenaline. Yes I jumped on a bandwagon, but it’s been a hell of a ride. I mean, look at this.
Finally…. sweaters. It is now all I want to wear in the fall/winter/spring. There is something about a hockey sweater that really compliments a husky Midwest frame. I can’t get enough of them. Awesome sweaters got me in to college hockey. What a game college hockey is. Every team seems to be full of raw guys who play with minimum skill and maximum speed/run in to thingsness… a bunch of Luis Mendoza’s if you will
I want to focus a lot of my learning on the college hockey game and particularly cover a lot of B1G hockey this year. My team? Minnesota. Why? Have you seen the sweaters??? Perfecto.
That’s it for the first day of Puck School. Now that you’ve read the syllabus… we’llet to work eventually I guess.
Go Hawks
-Z
Curse of Muldoon 